Macroscopic exam arthropod at Mercy General Hospital
4001 J St., Sacramento, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1487694857
$6.35
Cash price Discounted cash price What a hospital charges a self-pay patient who pays directly, without going through insurance — usually well below the gross charge. Example: A CT scan has a $3,200 gross charge but an $850 discounted cash price. Ask for it by name when scheduling — hospitals don't always advertise it up front.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$29.10
Gross charge Gross charge (chargemaster price) The hospital's full, undiscounted list price — pulled from its internal "chargemaster" price list. Almost no one actually pays this. Example: A chest X-ray has a gross charge of $1,450. The same hospital's discounted cash price for the same X-ray is $180 — the gross charge mostly anchors negotiations, not what patients pay.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$3.80 with United vs $29.00 with BCBS - Anthem — same scan, same building. Share
Negotiated rates by payer
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Negotiated rate
The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.
Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.
Full explanation →
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Negotiated rate
The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.
Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.
Full explanation →Payer ?Payer The insurance company footing the bill — Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and so on. Example: "Blue Cross Blue Shield" is the payer. Its negotiated rate for an MRI might be $904, while a different payer's negotiated rate for the same scan is $1,509. Full explanation → |
Plan ?Plan The specific product an insurer sells — e.g. "Blue Cross PPO 500" — which sets your deductible, coinsurance and negotiated rates. Example: Two people both insured by Aetna can owe very different amounts for the same MRI: $50 with an HMO plan's flat copay, or the full $1,200 toward a high-deductible PPO plan's unmet deductible. Full explanation → |
Negotiated rate | vs. cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| United | Medicaid|< 21 | $3.80 | ↓ -40% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|All Plans | $3.80 | ↓ -40% |
| United | Medicaid|> 21 | $3.80 | ↓ -40% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Other Plans | $4.03 | ↓ -37% |
| Hill Physicians | Medicaid|All Plans | $4.18 | ↓ -34% |
| Hill Physicians | Commercial|All Plans | $4.27 | ↓ -33% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|HMO | $4.27 | ↓ -33% |
| Hill Physicians | Medicare|All Plans | $4.27 | ↓ -33% |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $4.27 | ↓ -33% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|PPO | $4.27 | ↓ -33% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $4.27 | ↓ -33% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $4.27 | ↓ -33% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $4.27 | ↓ -33% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $4.27 | ↓ -33% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|Imperial | $4.40 | ↓ -31% |
| BrightHealth | Commercial|All Plans | $4.70 | ↓ -26% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $5.12 | ↓ -19% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $5.12 | ↓ -19% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $5.12 | ↓ -19% |
| Prison Healthcare | Medicaid|All Plans | $6.40 | ↑ +1% |
| Molina | Medicaid|All Plans | $7.14 | ↑ +12% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $7.22 | ↑ +14% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|All Plans | $8.82 | ↑ +39% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $8.82 | ↑ +39% |
| Cigna | Commercial|LocalPlus | $9.47 | ↑ +49% |
| Western Health Advantage | Commercial|All Plans | $10.15 | ↑ +60% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|All Plans | $11.89 | ↑ +87% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $12.63 | ↑ +99% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|ACO Trio CalPers | $13.63 | ↑ +115% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|Exchange | $14.50 | ↑ +128% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $15.61 | ↑ +146% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $15.61 | ↑ +146% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $15.61 | ↑ +146% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|HMO | $19.72 | ↑ +211% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $20.88 | ↑ +229% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|CalPers | $21.17 | ↑ +233% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|All Other Plans | $21.17 | ↑ +233% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $21.75 | ↑ +243% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $22.91 | ↑ +261% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Connection EPO | $23.20 | ↑ +265% |
| Sutter Health | Commercial|All Plans | $23.20 | ↑ +265% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $23.20 | ↑ +265% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $29.00 | ↑ +357% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $29.00 | ↑ +357% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Macroscopic exam arthropod at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methodist Hospital of Sacramento | Sacramento | $8.39 | $3.80 – $24.07 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $32.96 | $3.41 – $75.46 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $7.12 | $3.80 – $10.47 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $30.19 | $3.41 – $75.46 |
| Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta | Mt Shasta | $59.91 | $3.80 – $75.46 |
| Northridge Hospital Medical Center | Northridge | $50.78 | $3.80 – $182.00 |
| Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital | Grass Valley | $76.85 | $3.80 – $28.52 |
| California Hospital Medical Center | Los Angeles | $63.54 | $3.42 – $103.49 |